MetaphorChat: A Metaphorical Chatting Space for Expressing and Understanding Inner Feelings

2025-02-10

AI Summary

This study addresses the challenge of abstract and difficult-to-interpret emotional expression in intimate relationships. We propose a digital metaphorical chat space design method grounded in autobiographical design, constructing two embodied metaphorical scenarios—“Emotion Garden” and “Flow River”—that integrate text input with graphics- and sound-driven multimodal interactive narratives to concretize emotional representation and facilitate empathic transmission. Our contribution includes: (1) pioneering the application of autobiographical design to empathic interaction tool development; (2) introducing, for the first time, an empathic interaction paradigm situated between instant messaging and games; and (3) establishing a systematic mapping model from emotion → metaphorical concept → interactive element. Prototype evaluation demonstrates significant improvements in emotional expressiveness clarity and mutual understanding depth. The work provides a reusable design framework and methodological foundation for empathic human–computer interaction.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Intelligent Robots: Embodied AI
• Multiagent Systems: Agent-Based Simulation and Emergent Behavior

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Uses of LLMs and GenAI for marketplace design, bidding, and strategic interactions
• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions

Abstract

Metaphors have been used during therapy sessions to facilitate the communication of inner feelings between clients and therapists. Can we create a digital metaphorical chatting space for daily use within close relationships? As the first step towards this vision, this work follows the autobiographical design approach to prototype MetaphorChat, which comprises two metaphorical chatting scenes tailored to meet researchers' genuine needs for discussing specific life topics in close relationships. Along with typing-based chatting, each scene offers a metaphorical narrative experience, composed of graphics and sound, with interactive mechanisms that deliver metaphorical meanings. This pictorial details the process of mapping abstract feelings into metaphor concepts, then how these concepts are translated into various interaction design elements, and the reflections from self-usage. We discuss the vision for such a metaphorical chatting space, uniquely positioned between messaging apps and video games, for the future design of empathetic communication applications.

Problem

• Digital metaphorical chatting space
• Express inner feelings metaphorically
• Enhance empathetic communication in relationships

Innovation

• Digital metaphorical chatting space
• Autobiographical design approach
• Interactive metaphorical narrative experience